Audio Book review - Hitman Anders and the meaning of it all: wry and sometime whacky humour rather than serious murder!

Most of the books I read in the crime and thriller genre are pretty serious, whether its serial killers, black widows or just homicidal maniacs.  So when I saw this book and read the write up it piqued my curiosity and I wondered whether it would like up to expectations. 

At the beginning of the book three people’s lives intersect - Per Persson, the impoverished grandson of a livestock millionaire who lost his fortune, Johanna Kjellander a priest who has been sacked by her parish because of her lack of belief in God and of course Hitman Anders, who you’ll have guessed by his name, isn’t a very nice person.  Soon after meeting, Johanna and Per decide that Anders could be a source of income for them and proceed to package and market Anders as the “go to guy” who will break arms, or legs or even both, as long as the price is right.  In a recurring theme through the book, as soon as something seems to be working…well, circumstances change and the trio have to escape from gangsters, the tax authorities and even a surly church warden – ah yes, I forgot to mention, Anders finds Jesus – which does make things a bit awkward for a business centred on violence rather than peace and love!  Needless to say each time Johanna and Per’s business model adapts to new circumstances, the situation becomes more complex with more and more seemingly intractable problems head their way.  As the book develops, each of the trio question and try to understand the meaning of life and whether there is something better out there after all.

I really liked this – it was a nice change from the usually serious crime and thriller reading.  The writing has a wry humour and whilst sometimes whacky, doesn’t fall into the overly slapstick plotting and action that some other books do.  

I also listened to this as an audiobook.  Peter Kenny’s narration and characterisation is excellent, particularly his voice of Johanna Kjellander, which made me smile every time I heard it.  I downloaded the audible app on to both my work and personal phones so I was able to listen to some of the book in the evenings whilst I was away from home using one phone and because Audible logs the point at which you stop listening, switch seamlessly to my home phone and use that when I was out for my early morning walks when at home. Nifty little app!

Final conclusion – I do recommend this if you want something less serious and also a touch whacky. A nice change from what I usually review on The Crime Warp.

Romancrimeblogger